A Super Sunday of Sport

T20, F1, Tdf and the Open (a new laptop and Panini stickers) help make it a Super Sunday of Sport

What a weekend of sport, eh? T20 cricket, F1, Tour de France, The Open, the action just kept coming.

How was your weekend? Apart from getting absolutely leathered in the sun of course?

I had to take a trip to John Lewis to buy a new laptop. With a hangover. In this heat.

It’s not something I would like to repeat, even with their professionalism and ‘Never Knowingly Undersold’ strapline.

Incidentally, despite forking out a small fortune on new gear, I was actually more excited by coming across cut price Panini stickers in their store, which I hungrily bought. You can’t find them anywhere these days, so to come across them was a bonus.

‘You’re just a big kid,’ my wonderful girlfriend told me. And she’s right. As I raced off on my Grifter to play knock down ginger.

We all live in a Liam Livingstone world

Another reason I felt like a kid, or perhaps, more accurately, a young teenager with a hangover, was watching England joyously beat Pakistan in the T20 at Headingley on the BBC, slumped on the settee, trying to ward off Saturday’s excesses at a wonderful BBQ in the sunshine.

Did you see Liam Livingstone’s humongous six off fast bowler Haris Rauf?

It’s already being talked about as the biggest six in history. Bigger than AE Trott’s effort over the Lord’s pavilion on July 31, 1899 and bigger than any IPL shots, despite the latent power modern batsmen and modern bats possess.

It literally flew over the new stand at Yorkshire’s home ground. And onto the Leeds Rhinos’ rugby league pitch next door. It capped a good few days for the Lancashire batsman who once scored 350 in a club game in Cumbria as a youngster.

On Friday he hit England’s fastest ever century - off only 42 balls at Trent Bridge as he pummelled the visitors attack.

If it wasn’t sold out I’d be inclined to take a trip up to Old Trafford on Tuesday evening to watch the third match in the T20 series. Or to watch Livingstone in particular.

As it is, I’m heading to the Oval on Wednesday to take in the first ever Hundred match in cricket history.

It’s between the Oval Invincibles and the Manchester Originals, so I’ll share my thoughts on the dawn of a new era, which could change cricket forever.

But, in the meantime let’s simply enjoy watching a batsman in prime form.

What a weekend of sport - TdF, F1, Open

Congrats to Tadej Pogačar winner of the 2021 Tour de France.

Congrats also to Wout van Arte who took the final stage of the Tour de France, with Mark Cavendish a fraction behind.

It was the sign of a sportsperson who hates losing, to see Cav hit his handlebars in frustration at missing out on a final stage win on the Champs Elysee.

Yet, Cav can be proud of his tour, equalling the record 35 stage wins of the legendary Eddie Merckx, with his four victories - also earning him the right to wear the Green Jersey.

Will the knarled old warrior compete again next year in a bid to overtake The Cannibal’s all time record? I sincerely hope so. Not least because I’d love to watch him in the flesh during a stage at the race in 2022.

Tour de France memories

I’ve been on the roadside at a couple of Tdf France stages and it’s a wondrous event.

In France they view it as the biggest sporting event in the world, with more spectators than any World Cup or Olympics.

It’s a social thing when the Tour passes through your town or village.

Local Mayors bid for the right for the event to be scheduled to include their town - for the prestige, and, prior to the pandemic, for the increased number of visitors that are drawn to the spectacle.

TdF memories: MK II - copious amounts of red wine in Cahors

Incidentally, I once saw a stage in Cahors, deep in Burgundy country in south west France, not that far from Bordeaux if you’re trying to place it.

It was a baking hot day and as the big kid that I am, I succumbed to the convivial carnival atmosphere.

You have tour trucks coming through hurling out freebies, there are large numbers of roadside stalls offering food and drink, while music blares out.

It’s a family friendly event if you choose to make the most of it. I certainly did.

Consuming large quarts of red wine, at one point I thought I was Usain Bolt and started chasing after the cyclists that flew past, including Bradley Wiggins, Chris Froome and Mark Cavendish to name but three. My kids looked at me as if to say: ‘What’s dad up to now?’

Thankfully I didn’t cause a major international incident. Which is always a bonus.

A new F1 rivalry is sealed

The collision between Lewis Hamilton and rival Max Verstappen on the first lap of the British Grand Prix could mark the moment that F1 has a new rivalry.

Move over Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost and Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill.

The arguments and bad blood prompted by Hamilton aiming for that gap at Copse Corner - knowing it would be extremely difficult to chase down Verstappen if he hadn’t gone for that split second advantage - came from the fact Hamilton went for it, while sending a message saying he wasn’t prepared to accept Verstappen’s aggression any longer.

Did he have the right to go for the gap?

In a word, yes.

Hamilton had positioned himself on the inside on the approach to Copse.

As the angle tightened as they approached the apex, the British driver had to back out more than Verstappen before turning back in.

Which meant that as the pair were completely committed to the corner, Hamilton was slightly behind Vertstappen - which is why his front tyre then made contact with the latter’s front right wheel, causing him to fly into the safety barriers at an alarming speed.

While the stewards proclaimed that it was ‘predominantly’ Hamilton’s fault, their ruling also meant it was also slightly to do with Verstappen.

So they gave him the second most lenient penalty (10 seconds) And he still won. End of story.

The verbal jousting afterwards in which Red Bull condemned him, basically for the equivalent of a professional foul in F1, all adds to the interest. In the race for the drivers title and the constructors title.

Which is fine by me. It also adds to the drama and excitement of a sport that has not always gripped me. Which is a Good Thing in my book.

Genuine rivalries create genuine interest

For while I have progressed beyond the attitude of ‘it’s the only sport where you support the equipment rather than the sportspeople’, the technical side of matters still leaves me cold.

Though, having once interviewed a Moto GP rider, anyone who flies round corners at 180mph - on two wheels or four - in a bid to win a race has my complete and utter respect.

Racists and racism rears its ugly head once again in sport

Yet, criticism is one thing. Racist abuse is another entirely.

So, what is simply not acceptable is the racist abuse Hamilton received in the aftermath.

Why do people do this?

If you’re going to tweet: ‘I think Hamilton was wrong in not ceding the line when he reached the apex of the bend’ then that’s absolutely fine. That’s your opinion on sporting matters. Which is no more or less valid than anyone else’s.

But to abuse someone for the colour of their skin? Why would you do that? Seriously. Why would you do that?

There are some seriously deranged people out there. And they need rooting out.

As I always say: Prosecutions, jail time, re-education.

Well done Collin

On a leisurely Sunday afternoon off, flicking between different sports was as hectic as it got for me. Which was hugely enjoyable.

So, congrats to Collin Morikawa on lifting the Claret Jug, his second major after the 2020 PGA. And he’s still only 24.

His acceptance speech at Royal Sandwich was modest and unassuming.

I think we’ll be hearing plenty about young Collin over the next decade. I certainly hope so.

I also hope to watch him in the flesh next summer at the spiritual home of golf , St Andrew’s.

In the meantime, I’m off to put Panini stickers in my unfinished Euro2020 book and find out more about Arsenal’s new signing from all those ITK’s who’ve been watching him since he was six…

Cheers

@laythy29